Workers are now protected from ‘adverse employment action’ for being medical marijuana users, but employers can prohibit cannabis use at the workplace.
"Keep on top of the laws, they are changing as we speak," advised Eldeen Pozniak, a panelist at Safety 2019's panel discussion on marijuana legalization.
The draft guidance will help ensure the information in product labeling on abuse, misuse, addiction, physical dependence and tolerance is clear, concise, useful, and informative.
The agency is offering additional resources focused on preventing drug abuse with a particular emphasis on education about the dangers of opioids. The effort includes a website, a public awareness campaign, after-school activities, and free presentations to schools and workplaces.
A limited selection of products will appear gradually in physical or online stores no earlier than mid-December 2019, Health Canada reported. Federal license holders must provide 60 days' notice to Health Canada of their intent to sell new products.
The Marijuana Regulatory Agency held its first public meeting June 13 in Lansing, with agency leaders and managers presenting reports and discussing their operations. Executive Director Andrew Brisbo announced that the next three scheduled public meetings of the agency will coincide with work groups and will be held Aug. 29 in Detroit, Oct. 28 in Traverse City, and Dec. 9 in Flint.
The task force will evaluate Colorado's behavioral health system and write a statewide strategic blueprint to reform the system with the goal of allowing every Coloradan experiencing behavioral health needs to receive timely, high-quality services in his or her community.
The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation will no longer pay for Oxycontin or generic sustained-release oxycodone tablets for workers who suffer on-the-job injuries on or after June 1, 2019. Injured workers who are currently on those medications will have until Dec. 31 to discontinue their use or switch to a different product on the state agency's formulary.
"We need help from policy makers to ensure that more people have access to treatment. Physicians are responding to the epidemic and we are seeing results: a reduction in opioid prescribing of 33 percent since 2013, increased use of prescription drug monitoring programs, enhanced education, and greater co-prescribing of naloxone," said AMA President-elect Dr. Patrice A. Harris, who is the task force's chair. "But we cannot enforce parity laws or eliminate administrative barriers without the help of state and federal authorities, and that's what is limiting treatment now."
Of all the service agents involved in the testing process, the MRO bears the most significant responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the testing process.
The U.S. Department of Labor and the National Institute on Drug Abuse have found that employees who suffer from drug or alcohol dependency are nearly three times more likely to either cause or personally experience an injury-related absence from work.
The agency is hosting a public hearing on May 31 to obtain scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling, and sale of products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds, including cannabidiol.
Flavored purified alcoholic beverages are a new and growing class of beverages in Canada that pose an increasing public health risk, especially to younger Canadians, Health Canada reports.
The American National Standards Institute has announced the schedule of events for World Standards Week 2019, which is set for Nov. 4-8, 2019, in Washington, D.C. A Legal Issues Forum concerns cannabis regulation and standardization.
DEA reported that the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health indicated 6 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs, most of them obtained from family and friends.
Attorney General William Barr and U.S. Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force will expand into the Western District of Virginia, making it the tenth ARPO Strike Force district.
Quest Diagnostics released the results of the Quest Diagnostics Drug Testing Index™ April 11 at the Drug and Alcohol Testing Industry Association annual conference in Chicago.
"I always have and I always will fully support medical cannabis for our people who are in so much pain that their physicians deem it absolutely necessary," Gov. Jim Justice said. "I will say, adamantly, I am one hundred percent against recreational marijuana."
The state's STOP-DWI initiative started on March 15 and continued through March 18.
Commercial Driver's License holders, employers, state driver licensing agencies, medical review officers, and substance abuse professionals will begin using the agency's CDL Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse in January 2020.